Note: Images of the original pages are available through Our Roots/Nos Racines. See http://www. Ourroots. Ca/e/toc. Asp?id=1977

A NEW HOCHELAGAN BURYING-GROUND DISCOVERED AT WESTMOUNT ON THE WESTERNSPUR OF MOUNT ROYAL, MONTREAL, JULY-SEPTEMBER 1898

Notes by

W. D. LIGHTHALL, M. A. , F. R. S. L. 

Privately printed for the writer byAlphonse PelletierPrinter to the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Montreal

1898

The above title is provisional as respects the term "Hochelagan. " Allthose who are interested in the Indians of old Hochelaga, or in theMohawks with whom they seem to have had a close and not yet fullyascertained race relationship, will be pleased to learn of thediscovery of a prehistoric burying-ground which is probably one oftheir race, the only one heretofore known having been on the bordersof their town itself, about upper Metcalfe street, Montreal. The newone is on the upper level (not the top) of Westmount, which is thesouth-western prolongation of Mount Royal, and the four or five gravesthus far found are scattered at considerable intervals over an anarea of about 600 by 300 yards, nearly bounded by Argyle, Montroseand Aberdeen Avenues and the Boulevard, three of the graves being alittle outside of these limits. A number of years ago a skeleton wasdiscovered, near the surface, on the cutting of Argyle Avenue on abouta westerly line from the residence of Mr. Earle. As the remains wererumored to be possibly Indian, Mr. Earle secured the skull, whichhad been used as a football by boys, some of the teeth, which hadoriginally been complete in number, being thus lost. This head isidentical in form with those last found. Roots of grass interlacedin it show the lightness of the covering. On another occasion manyyears ago, a skeleton was found, also lightly buried, and with theknees drawn up, just east of the residence of Mr. John Macfarlaneon Montrose Avenue, during the digging of a flower-bed. It was oversix feet long. After being exposed for a few days it was re-interredin the same spot by order of Mr. Macfarlane, and could doubtlessbe obtained for examination if desirable. At a later period, thegardener, Mr. Latter, who had found the Macfarlane skeleton, dug upand re-interred another just within the bounds of his own propertyadjoining the head of Aberdeen Avenue opposite the St. George'sSnowshoe Club-house. On the 22nd of July last (1898) a gardenerexcavating in the St. George's Club-house grounds found threeskeletons interred at a depth of from two to two and a half feet andwith knees drawn up. A report of the find was made to the Chiefof Police of Westmount and to Mr. J. Stevenson Brown, and Mr. A. S. Wheeler, respectively President and Vice-President of the St. George'sClub, the former being also an ex Vice-President of the NaturalHistory Society. They examined the spot and remains, Mr. Brownconcluding them to be probably Indian from the prominent cheek bonesand large mouths. Having just been paying some attention to thearchaeology of the Iroquois, which had been taken me on a flying tripto their former country in the State of New-York, I, on seeing in anewspaper at the seaside, a short item concerning the skeletons, wasimmediately interested, and especially in the possibility of theirbeing Hochelagans, and having particularly commenced some inquiriesinto the relations between the latter Indians and the Mohawks, Iwrote, as Chairman of Health of Westmount, asking Chief Harrison tonote the manner and attitude of burial and any objects found, and toenquire concerning previous excavations in the neighborhood and savethe remains for scientific purposes. (They had been sent by him to theCity Morgue. ) The above information concerning the previous skeletonswas then collected and I found that the witnesses concurred inagreeing that the attitude seems to have been in all cases withknees bent up. No objects seem to have been noticed in any of theexcavations then made, though some may have been overlooked by theworkmen, particularly as the soil of the locality is full of pieces oflimestone and small boulders, closely resembling arrow heads, hammersand celts. Several bones which are not human have however been sincefound with these three skeletons, one possibly of a dog, another ofa squirrel. They may be those of the funeral feast Sir William Dawsonmentions in his work "Fossil Men, " as usually to be looked for overthe Hochelagan graves. 

Mr. Beauchamp, the New-York authority, writes concerning the Mohawks;"Burial customs varied greatly among the same people, but usually theknees are drawn up. The face might be turned either way in contiguousgraves. I have seen many opened with no articles in them. " By thekindness of Dr. Wyatt Johnston, Pathologist to the Provincial Boardof Health, the three skeletons have been preserved and are now inthe Chateau de Ramezay Historical Museum where they will doubtlessbe regarded with interest by scholars. The skulls have been fullyidentified as of the Indian type, and found to be those of twopowerful males in the prime of life and one young woman. The skullin possession of Mr. Earl is doubtless of the same race. Some largestones were found placed above the bodies, and also a number ofnaturally flat stones which appear to have been used as scoops toexcavate. The plateau where the remains were found is about half wayup the side of the "Mountain" or hill, as it more properly is, thetotal height being only about 700 feet. The plateau slopes somewhatand looks towards the south-east, and being protected by the hillbehind it from prevailing winds, and having a good light soil, constitutes a very favorable situation for the growth of the Indiancrops of corn and beans. The Mountain being an isolated rise in thegreat plain of the St. Lawrence, the plateau was also most favorablyplaced for look-out and defence. A hundred yards or so to the west isa fine perennial spring, and a short distance further is another whichhas always been known as "the old Indian Well, " having been a resortof Indians at a later period. Only a few spots on the plateau haveso far been excavated; but with approaching improvements I have nodoubt that other graves will soon be found. The ground to the west, in the neighborhood of the two perennial springs, has in particular, never been much disturbed. If therefore, as on the site of the oldHochelaga, this burying-ground is on the out skirts of a town site, relics of a much more interesting character may be looked for inthe undisturbed neighborhood just referred to, the Raynes and Murrayfarms, and those on, the southern slope of the Mountain. 

Should a town-site be fortunately discovered I have no doubt thatprogressive Westmount will see to proper care being taken in thematter. Such a town would likely be older than Hochelaga and thusafford a fresh step in tracing the record of this mysterious people. Such towns were frequently moved, when the soil or supply of wood gaveout, or disease or enemies made removal imperative. As to the remainsalready unearthed being prehistoric, there can be no doubt. The Islandwas deserted after the destruction of Hochelaga by the Hurons about1560. The next Indian inhabitants were Catholic converts and thereforewere buried at full length in a consecrated Christian ground. The village of the converts was at the Old Towers of the Fort desMessieurs, some quarter of a mile eastward of the plateau referred to. 

In tracing back the history of the land in which these discoverieshave been made, we learn from the _terrier_ or land book of theSeminary of St. Sulpice, that it was conceded about 1708, and that ithas ever since remained in private hands. Had the site been known asa burial place, even years previous to that date, it is altogetherunlikely that such a concession would have been made; especially asthere was abundance of unoccupied land in the vicinity. The faintdoubt which arose as to whether the interments were made subsequentlyto the founding of Montreal, is therefore eliminated. The authoritiesof the Seminary, who conceded the land, state not only that they haveno record of a burying-ground there, but agree with me that the spacecovered is too large, to be consecrated ground, as it would be inChristian times, and they also state that the burials of the missionof the Mountain where the Montreal Indian converts lived, were madechiefly at the cemeteries of Montreal and were very few. TheseIndians had originally been assembled around Ville Marie but wereremoved to the Fort des Messieurs where Montreal College stands in1662, and thence, towards the beginning of the 18th century, toSault-au-Recollet and in 1717 to Oka. The method of burial, also, isnot Christian, but pagan, and similar in every respect to early Mohawkburials. 

On Saturday the 10th September, 1898, I went with two laborers grantedby the Town of Westmount to the excavation on the club house grounds, and choosing a spot on its edge cut a short trench some two feet deep. About ten feet southward of the three skeletons previously found, thistrench revealed two large stones placed in the form of a reversed V, clearly in order, as it afterwards appeared, to partly cover a body. On raising these, a skeleton was found of a tall young man laid on thehard-pan, on his right side, with face down, head towards the west, knees drawn up, and covered with the mealy dry whitish earth of thelocality, to a depth of about two and a half feet. Mr. Earl assistedin carefully uncovering the remains, of which Mr. Charles J. Brownthen took two excellent protographs in situ. The form of skull wassimilar to the others, the teeth fine and perfect except a grinderwhich had been lost years before. One armbone showed that it had oncebeen broken and healed again. No objects were found, though the searchwas very careful. On the 17th, the excavations were continued in thehope of finding objects of value to science. On this occasion therewas present, besides the writer Mr. Earl, Mr. C. J. Brown, Mr. Wheelerand others and Mr. R. W. McLachlan, one of the excavators of oldHochelaga. About four or five feet north of the grave last-mentioned, large stones were again struck and on being lifted, the skeletonof a young girl was unearthed whose wisdom teeth had just begun toappear in the jaw. The large bone of her upper left arm had at onetime been broken near the shoulder. Her slender skeleton was in thesame crouching position as the others but much more closely bunchedtogether; the top of the head was laid towards the north and lookingpartly downwards. Above her were found several flat stones whichmay have been used as scoops for the excavation. Under her neck wasdiscovered the first manufactured object found, a single rude bead ofwhite wampum of the prehistoric form, and which is now deposited inthe Chateau de Ramezay. As white wampum was the gift of a lover, thissole ornament tells the pathetic story of early love and death. Mr. Chas. J. Brown again protographed the remains in situ. The work willstill proceed and no doubt more important discoveries are yet to bemade. 

Montreal, September 20th, 1898. 

REPORT OF Dr. HIBBERT ON THE WESTMOUNT SKELETONS

No. I. --A Young Woman

The bones of this skeleton, are fragile, broken and considerablydecayed. 

The skull is in fair condition, though the lower jaw is broken inhalf. 

The skull is round and arched above the breadth index being 77. 7, ofbrachycephalic or Mongoloid type. _The superciliary_ ridges are notvery prominent, but the frontal, parietal and occipital eminencesare very distinct. _The forehead_ is non receding and the breathmeasures 9 c. M. The cheekbones are not unduly prominent, the officialmeasurement being 119 m. M. The gnathic index is 93, or orthognathous. The teeth are well preserved and not much worn, the 3d. Molars nothaving erupted in either jaw. The face is short and broad, the heightbeing 108 m. M. In and breadth 119 m. M. , the orbit is inclined to besquare with rounded angles and the type megaseme, the nasal index ismesorhine. 

A very striking feature of this skull is the well marked centralvertical frontal ridge and some tendency to angularity of the vertex. In the whole this skull is of a more refined type than the others andsuggestive of some fair intellectual development of the individual. There are two wormian bones on the left side of the skull, one at thepterion and one below the asterion each being 9 m. M. Long. 

The bones generally are fragile and the long bones slender, with nomarked impression for muscular attachment. A curious fact is that theends of all the long bones are absent, presumably from decay, and asthese ends are united to the shafts between the age of puberty (14-15)and adult life it is suggestive that the individual may have beenof about the age of 18 or 20 and this is somewhat confirmed by thenoneruption of the third molars. 

With this skeleton are two animal bones. White and very dense instructure. They are both femura, one probably that of an ungulate; theother of a carnivore. 

No. II. --A Brachycephalic Man

This skeleton is that of a large and powerfully built man, the bonesbeing very heavy and strong with marked impressions and prominencesfor muscular attachment. The skeleton, with the exception of some ofthe small bones of the hands and feet is complete. 

The skull is large and massive, and the lower jaw very strong andheavy. The teeth are well preserved but much ground down at the crown. The superciliary ridges are very prominent. The fore head is narrow(102 c. M. ) receding. 

Judging from the size and strength of the bones and their impressionsfor muscular attachment, this man must have been very powerful andcalculating from the length of the femur, at least six feet tall. With this skeleton we found a small humerus of some mammal possibly asquirrel. 

No. III. --The Tallest Man

This skeleton is also that of a large powerfully built man, eventaller man the last. The skull is larger, though not quite so massive. It is longer and narrower and dolicephalus, the occipital region veryprominent. The height index is low (70. 5). 

The face is broad as compared with the length 124-112 and the cheekbones are prominent, lower jaw is heavy and strong. 

The bones of this skeleton are well preserved and it is almost entire, there being only a few of the bones of the hands and feet missing. Thepelvis is masculine. The bones are long, large and heavy with markedimpressions and processes. 

The femur measures 17-7/8 inches so that this man must have been sixfeet or more and of muscular frame. 

Among the bones of No III skeleton were 2 small rib bones of a bird. 

Judging from the general conformation of the three skulls, it wouldappear that No. I, was that of the most intelligent person of thethree and No. III of the least No. II being intermediate. 

It is difficult to estimate the height of No. I as the femur is sodecayed at both ends, but allowing for this, the height would notbe more than 5 feet and probably less than that. The skeletonsundoubtedly belong to the Mongoloid type and are distinctive ofthe North American Indians.